Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on

Refined design, updated internals - and some incredible new software features. This is the Samsung Galaxy S4

You're Samsung. You easily have the world's leading line of smartphone. The Galaxy S3 sold millions upon millions. Hell, folks are still buying the Galaxy S2. What do you do with the follow-up, the Samsung Galaxy S4?

If you're Samsung, you refine the hardware and pack even more features into the software side.

We spent a little time with the new Galaxy S4 at Samsung's launch event in New York City, and one thing quickly became clear: For as awesome as the Galaxy S3 was, the Galaxy S4 is that much better.

Let's go hands-on with the Galaxy S4.

Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on video

The Galaxy S4 hardware

If you're looking for a radical redesign in the Galaxy S4, you're going to be disappointed. The overall look and feel of the GS4 is pretty much like the GS3. In fact, the phones have nearly identical footprints. The GS4 is a tad more narrow and ever so slightly slimmer. It's also lost a bit of its curve on the back. It's squarish, but not blocky.

The volume rocker and power button are in their usual places on the sides of the phone. At the bottom you have a slightly redesigned physical home button -- it's a little bigger -- that's flanked by disappearing back and menu buttons. Functionality of the home button also is familiar -- long press for multitasking and Google Now, double press for S Voice.

The display -- let's just say it's pretty damn gorgeous. But 1080p displays are like that, no? It's 5 inches in diagonal, covered in Gorilla Glass 3, crammed into the same form factor as the 4.8-inch Galaxy S3, and they've done it by shaving off the bezels. It's a sight to behold.

The back of the phone's been redesigned a little bit. The speaker's moved to the bottom, and the flash is directly beneath the centered 13-megapixel camera lens. There's sort of a cool holographic design on the battery cover -- yes, the Galaxy S4 still has a removable battery -- that seems to shimmer when caught in the light.

The internals have increased accordingly, as well. Depending on your region, the Galaxy S4 will either be powered by an Exynos 5 or a Snapdragon processor. You've got the requisite 2 gigabytes of RAM on board as well.

The last physical difference is the addition of an IR blaster on the top of the phone, used for controlling televisions and components. We've seen that on the likes of the Galaxy Note 8.0 as well as other manufacturers' smartphones this year.

Galaxy S4 software

This is where Samsung's really outdone itself on the Galaxy S4. For one thing, it's running Android 4.2.2 -- the most recently released version of Android. (A note: these units were very pre-production. Lag happens. We'd expect that to clear up by release.) TouchWiz has been refined -- there are some great new animations. And while it still might not be our favorite customization, Samsung continues to improve it, and that should be applauded.

Samsung has redesigned the settings menu and added a secondary menu -- the stock quick settings section in Android 4.2.2 -- that toggle a number of the features that follow:

The Galaxy S4 camera

Samsung long has had excellent camera software (to say nothing of the equally good image quality), and improvements in the Galaxy S4 border on the ridiculously awesome. First up is the improved user interface that borrows heavily from the Samsung Galaxy Camera, which makes sense. Modes are easier to flip through. There are a host filters with which you can play artist to your heart's content, and Samsung's made it easy to switch between them and see them all at once.

But one of our favorite toys is dual-recording, a sort of picture-in-picture mode that records from both cameras simultaneously. There are a number of options for the secondary recording -- a postage stamp, split screen, or a heart, etc. -- and you can flip between the front and rear cameras.

Another great feature is "eraser mode," which can identify and eliminate unwanted photobombers. Highlight, touch and they're erased from history. This only works for still images.

There are a number of other new features, including the ability to record 8 seconds of sound with an image, or "Drama shot," which combines a burst of images into a single image. "Story Album" groups together images based on a number of criteria, including geolocation, with Trip Adviser landing a hand here.

Samsung Air View and Air Gesture, Smart Pause and Smart Scroll

Actually touching your phone is so 2012. Samsung's introducing "Air View" with the Galaxy S4 that lets you hover your finger to pop up previews. For instance: If you've got multiple tabs open in the browser, you can hover over the tabs button to preview all the hidden tabs, then tap the one you want to go to. Or in Samsung's e-mail browser (and not Gmail, unfortunately), you can hover over an individual e-mail to see a preview. It's pretty quick and more useful than we expected it to be.

Samsung's flirted with gestures as actions for some time, and now it's doing so in the air. Waving your hand over the phone can trigger scrolling in the browser or gallery. It's kind of a goofy feeling, and it takes a little practice to make it work perfectly every time. It's also more work than simply using your thumb to flip through things. But, hey, it's cool. You can also answer phone calls with a simple wave -- Samsung envisions using that while driving.

Smart Pause can recognize when you look away from a video and pause it automatically. Smart Scroll uses wrist action combined with an educated guess of where you're looking on the device and adjusts scrolling accordingly. (Not quite as space-age as the rumored eye-tracking, but it's still pretty cool.)

Samsung S Health

The overall theme of the Galaxy S4 is about making it a "life companion." And Samsung's now getting into the health and fitness world with S Health. In a nutshell, take the best features of apps like Endomondo or Fitbit, and that's what's built into S Health. It can, in the background, track your daily exercise habits, along with environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.

Samsung also showed off a trio of accessories to go along with S Health -- a connected scale, wristband and heart-rate monitor. They connect to the phone via Bluetooth.

The bottom line

That's not all, folks. That's really only scratching the surface. A few other features we got to play with:

Group Play: Connect up to eight Galaxy S4s via NFC and share music (imagine a half-dozen phones all playing the same song at the same time) and photos and what not.

Samsung Optical Reader: Scan business cards and the like. Not a new technology, but it's built in.

Samsung WatchOn: Using the built-in IR blaster to control televisions. We've seen this built into other devices (Samsung and otherwise), and like other iterations it uses Peel to handle TV listings.

So, yeah. While the hardware's been updated, and the design of the Galaxy S4 has been streamlined, the software is what really shines. The sheer number of new features are staggering. And for the most part, they're all pretty cool -- as well as useful.

It's too early to call the Galaxy S4 an unmitigated success. But between what we've seen today and the Samsung marketing blitz we all know is coming, we can say this in full confidence: It's going to sell millions, and rightfully so. It's easily the best all-around smartphone money can buy.

Reader comments

Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on

It's pretty clear that the Galaxy S4 is far and above the handset of the year from an software development and implementation of features standpoint. This is definitely what Samsung is all about serving exact notice to manufacturers. But I gotta give a shout out to HTC for their beautifully designed and crafted HTC ONE. Looks like 2013 will be a ruff year selecting smartphones.

I don't think it's clear at all. It's clear they've tried the hardest, but I honestly can't see myself using ANY of these features. As long as smart phone screens have a physical surface, touch will be my preferred method of interaction.

It seemed to me like the S4 was more gimmicks than anything... the HTC One is a stunning device and where HTC focused on hardware design with a few awesome software features, Samsung focused on software and improved on the hardware without really changing the design... I really don't see me using any of the features that Samsung announced tonight... and the camera stuff I'm sure someone will make a camera app that gives people some of those options

I mean, I'm sure the hardware is great, and I don't entirely subscribe to the idea that a phone's design is itself a feature (so the design similarities between the S3 and S4 don't bother me), but this one does seem to focus on software features. As others have said, I honestly don't see myself using many of these things often - they do border on gimmickry to an extent.

I think for the same price, I'd be more interested in the HTC One, but my real hope is that either company comes out with a "mini" version, as I really don't care for the enormous size of either. Samsung did it with the S3 last year, but it ended up being essentially S2 specs. If they do the same - release a mini S4 with the specs of the S3, it could be a perfect phone for those wanting still relatively high-end performance without the huge screen.

Rich,this is going to be a stellar year for both the One and the S4 period.I especially love the build on the S4 and the One but the S4 looks more solid and smart of Samsung to stay w/the polycarbornate .The features definitely can come in handy and I expect this is what the GALAXY NOTE III may come with esp.EYE SCROLL and STAY PAUSE!! Right now all I want for my Note2 IS 4.2.2...

I'm curious how you feel the S4 is a more solid build? Even without seeing either, it's pretty safe to conclude that an aluminum uni-body design will be far more solid than a plastic one with removable back/battery.

Not saying either is better or worse, but it seems crazy to say the Samsung looks more solid.

I agree with GMENN. The S3 is still a very powerful device and the S4 upgrade will be targeting people who are using the S2. I would hold off until the Note 3 if I was in your position. I personally am using the S2 and my 2 year contract is ending soon so I will probably grab the S4 or Nexus 5.

Screen is probably better, despite Samsung saying Amoled is better than LCD all of a sudden. Speakers are probably better for watching video. Those two things are more important to me than all the Samsung gimmicks combined.

How was I not being objective? I said probably better, not definitively better. I put my One X screen next to my coworker's GS3 and it wasn't even close. HTC has the best screen on the market right now. Ask the AC guys. In terms of speakers, again I said probably. Haven't used either of these phones, but I think dual front-facing speakers is a great idea.

Everyone has different wants. I find the S3 screen better than any other because i simply cannot tolerate grey blacks, and ALL LCDs of any quality have grey blacks compared to the blackhole-like AMOLEDs. Im very interested in the new S4 screen, it seems like they might have fixed the saturation issues, which frankly were only ever about calibration.

You dismissed the GS4 screen with no reference to the advantages of the technology nor improvements made. I actually agree with regard to speaker placement. You then closed by dismissing the most comprehensive unveiling of added manufacturer functionality, applications and accessories as gimmicks. Obviously some people will have no personal use for many but none are gimmicks and your two 'preferences' are far outweighed by the sheer number of useful options Samsung have added to the device. It is sad in a way that most Android innovation is not coming from Google but from Samsung.

Everyone prioritizes features differently, and can be happy with the phone they choose based on this. This leads to people with different phones, and therefore arguments. It's not worth it to argue as the "best phone" is different for everyone.

In terms of innovation, I think we've entered an evolutionary period more than a revolutionary one. There just isn't much more we can make a phone do at the moment. Also, Google gets its money from advertising and if it can get Android phones to sell this quickly without devoting a huge amount of time to the OS they'll probably feel fine.

When did facts become subjective? Full grill stereo speakers are better than the tiny little circle on the back. The screen is technically superior in every single way. Better camera. Better build quality. I have an S3 right now, and there's a reason I'm going One.

Facts are facts, but what does "better" mean? Your use of "better" is not a measure of distinguishable quality for informing my listening choices. I think that two tiny speakers in front are just as worthless for my listening enjoyment as one tiny speaker in back. If the goal is for good sound, then you aren't going to get it by any measure I use listing to the speaker from any cell phone.

How is the screen "better"? I have a GS3 and N4, the technologies are different and each has strengths and weaknessess, but is one "better"? I'll let the user decide.

"Better build quality", that is my favorite stupid saying. My new N4 has 3 scratches and my S3 has none - is durability build quality? Aluminum dents and scratches easily, does that make it inferior to plastic? - Each of us can reach their own conclusion. But don't confuse "facts" with preference.

People who use their phone speakers in public should be executed, they are a menace. HTC encouraging it isnt something i want to see. I use headphones, which are better quality. HTCs use of Beats is a downer as well, If the S4 has the same Wolfson hardware as the S3 then that beats 'Beats' hands down..

Not everyone uses their speakers all the time to listen to music....I want a phone that has decent speakers so i can go hands free when talking. In the car not in public.... I personally hate the Bluetooth ear pieces. I have the S2 and the speakers suck...

It's weird when I see people on tech sites that don't know the difference between LCD and OLED technology. They both have strengths and weaknesses. But, when it comes to phones, OLED's strength out weigh LCD's. For monitors, I would use LCD IPS panels, but for smartphones I will prefer OLEDs due to it being much more power efficient then LCDs.

I don't know, so many of you are jumping the gun with this phone "it's gonna kill every device!!" "HTC has no innovation compared to this!!"

This S4 release is a software pack update on the S3. Most of the apps are gonna come to S3 anyway. It's just so childish, too many gimmicks.

I imagine me with family taking a picture in Rome, and yeah no problem mom, I'm just going to glue myself in this photo here... Sure is going to look great in that little cheesy box. Yeah. Proper innovation. Very f'ing usefull

Both Motorola and HTC use 256 bit encryption along with fips 140-2 certification with mdm support. Difference is Samsung has a marketing word for it. I would like to know how they protect information that is on the memory card. Can you remote wipe your sd card?

While I agree, I do like the idea of the dual camera mode and the gesture based scrolling. I will actually seek this out in a store to play with.

I will likely never leave my iOS universe, but I am glad to see Samsung actually doing their own thing. Yes, most of these new features (with the exception of the two i mentioned) can be replicated on other devices (including my iPhone 5) with apps (Bump for sharing pictures and info, countless Instagram-esque photo filter apps), there is something to be said for baking them into the default apps.

I will admit I was skeptical (I am one who thinks that Samsung doesn't make the best, or even second best, android phones). But I have to admit, this stuff works like it should? Impressive.

Consider the bar raised. I also think that Samsung's path is clear. Tenzian will become their own fork of android, with TouchWiz fully integrated. Perhaps by 2015 with the Galaxy T?

I know that it is today. I am saying that I can easily see Samsung taking what they learn there, and taking the best aspects of it, and forking android and taking the base there. They want total control.

You know.. sometimes the app dev is to blame. If you think 100% of ios apps are lagless you are naive. And the Nexus 4 is the best optimized android device out there. There isn't a smoother android experience.

Only spot that I see lag on a nexus 4 is in the widget area of the app drawer. I believe that is the same spot the GS4 lagged at LOL (this feels like "hard drive access" lag).

If anything else lags on the phone its usually a poorly optimized app. Like the optimum app for instance. The TVGUIDE feature when I flick my finger to make it scroll definitely is not smooth. Thats not the phone lagging though thats the crappy code that optimum put out.

No way should a text list lag when a full website with pictures and text does not lag at all when I flick to make chrome scroll.

Apple sells a lot of iPhones, and I think anyone that knows what CPU stands for wonders why. Marketing sells phones. The world is filled with many simple people. Simple to use phones sell. Sales numbers are indicative, but can't be read into that much.

Honestly, I'm not that impressed with the s4. Sure, it has competitive specs but aside from a few gimmicks, there's no innovation. I've never felt the need to jedi mind-trick my phone. But speakers on the front? That's brilliant.

Talking about gimmicks, mid-grade speakers on a phone is a gimmick. What are you going to do with speakers on a phone? They will never be able to fit speakers on a phone that produce high quality sound. You either get a high quality speaker from a third party to pair up with your phone if you are using your phone for entertainment media, or you wear a headset/earplugs for personal use.

How is trying to improve the sound of the speaker a gimmick? I use the speaker a lot. When I'm playing cards at the table we will watch youtube clips, or a song or two. Not worth buying a radio or speaker set up for that, but I would take better speaker on the phone though. That's almost like saying, why put a 1080p screen on a phone? If you want to watch HD video you have a big screen TV, why watch on a 5 inch phone?

Definitely a very good refresh. But I wouldn't say it stomped the HTC One though. They upgraded the screen to match up to the competition and added gestures which is a cool concept. While I applaud them for trying to think out of the box, it doesn't seem easier than just touching the screen. Scrolling through pages with your thumb seems easier than waving your entire hand over the phone. And the previews by hovering your finger just seems more tiring than simply holding your finger on the screen. Great concept though, would love to see what else they can come up with using this tech in the future.

I agree. The hover gestures is a cool concept but it is actually slower to use than touching the screen. I do like that Samsung licensed the tech to use gloves on the screen.

Samsung did everything they had to do in order to maintain their dominance in smartphones. You have the Note 2 to dominate phablet category and the GS4 now is packed with both hardware and software that will please users. Well done Samsung.

lol. Agreed. I get that some people like the HTC One better, and that's cool. It's one hell of a sexy phone. But when you feel the need to comment on the S4 release about how "lame" it is and you're buying the One instead, it really starts to sound like you're trying to convince yourself of something.

If you have to justify buying a phone by hating on another phone, it's a psychological issue you should be dealing with a therapist. If you like the One, then just go buy it. If you like the S4, buy it. If you like the Sony Xperia Z, buy it. I mean, c'mon. For the first time ever in history of Android smartphones, there are going to be truly 4-5 high end handsets that you can choose from. We should all be happy.

I think the ONE looks great, but these HTC fans have been so defensive, jumping on every little critique, like Putin on punk! Just chill. We've got two great, but very different, choices added to our already rich portfolio of available premium devices. Pick one you like and enjoy & stop freaking out because not everyone agrees with you. Leave that behavior for the iOS fans.

Actually it doesnt and the camera, while great in the dark, is very very average at best in the daylight. Its soft and little more than a moderate 4MP phone cam in anything but poor light. If you tend to use your cam in poor light its great, if not, its poor. So make your choice.

it does, they just didnt talk about it at length like samsung did, which was a big mistake on htcs part. I personally prefer great low light shots at a lower resolution than crap low light shots at a high resolution. to each his own. just because you like samsung doesnt mean you have to put down HTC.

So the fact that this very site called the ones camera the best on the market pretty much males your post irrelevant. Engadget also said the camera was the best of any phone and even some point and shoots. You lose.

You're really in love with this thing aren't you? Its really not that big a deal to me. Its refined. I like how they increased screen size but kept the same physical size of the phone. That's something I've been asking for from every manufacturer. It has some cool software features, bit nothing groundbreaking, and really, i would think they could just implement in the S3. But of course, they have to sell phones to people who bite. I would *rather* get a HTC One, but I'm getting neither, because I'm good with my Nexus 4.

No, after this we are going to 5.0 keylime pie with the announcement of the Nexus 5. If it requires 4.2 to update to 5.0, samsung is ahead already. It's not possible for HTC to roll out 4.2 to all their devices in less the 6months then keylime pie.

If they can SKIP 4.2 and go straight to keylime pie then we will all be happy android fans.

lol. Dude... first off, don't try and prove your point by copying the marketing spec sheet of another device. It's cool if you like the device, but tell us what *you* think. Especially considering at least half the items on that list are stock Android features that are going to be on every Android phone.

HTC has done some cool stuff with the One. And no phone is perfect for everyone. That's why it's great that there are so many different Android phones out there. So, can we all just get along now? :)

TenshiNo...got me dude. The only stock item is the Wifi. I was responding to the post by rovex who said the only differentiation was BlinkFeed as was noted in the first line of my post. The rest of the items was a listing of hardware and software features not available on the GS4 which makes the new HTC One the most advanced and beautifully designed smartphone for 2013, thus far.

Before the rest of you hate go read gizmodos review. They make it sound like nothing special. I own a Note 2 and love Sammy but Im at least on the fence about this being anything too special. Upgrade for sure but definitely nothing too crazy.

In all honesty, it wasn't like mind-blowingly cool. Largely because most of the mind-blowing features are already on our phones :) Still thought they had some interesting new features. And we have to remember that Samsung is not trying to convince anyone with a Note 2 to buy this phone.

If your needs put productivity or content creation at the top of your list then the Note line, with all of the S Pen functionality, is the best option. In that sense the Note line does not compete with the Galaxy S line as they target different use cases.

The phone is powerful as expected but so is the HTC One. The S4 seems to have a lot of very cool gimmicks....so many people will forget about them. I never owned an S3, and I have shown people a few gimmicks Samsung embedded into it that I learned just from reading. Soooo that means people don't really care about them. Phone junkies are just going to root the phone and most likely loose the gimmicks anyway so great job Samsung you gave us a nice phone that has some cool software tricks that can be mimicked and added to other devices. I am getting the HTC One.

Actually ive had 5 HTCs, but they have just been left behind so badly now. They are lovely looking things, but the features and experience are just so second rate. The One X was horrible. Sense 5 is boring, the features uninspiring. I really wanted more.

Not sure about the others, but yeah I will be happy. Once the S4 and the One get rooted and most likely CM10.1 will be added we will all have the same device with different screen sizes and cameras. Only mines will look better while doing it.

rovex seems like he is hating on the HTC One because of last years sales. Make a personal decision when buying a phone.

What do you care how many other people get a device? I base my phone purchase on my personal preference, not someone else's. The One matches the S4 in almost every department while looking/feeling a whole lot better. That's plenty good for me.

I dunno.... Seems a bit flashy and gimmicky to me. A lot of those "features' are cool, but as far as real life applications, such as using multiple phones for a sound system, or inserting myself in a picture, or using the translator to chat with a Russian in Beijing China, I really don't see much use in that.

S band came about due to the nike fuel band being a product that right now only LBJ shoes carry. His 3 year deal with SS, nike has made the band accessible to S band since there is no app for us. So samsung didnt copy they are a little more power than giving credit for..

Im sure you are aware that HTC lock down their devices. Custom ROMs wont be so easy to install, rooting will be harder. Samsung practically encourage it. Part of the reason Samsung are so popular is that they let you do what you like. Of course coming from an iPhone even HTC will seem like freedom.

Yawn....yea that's the same BS they been saying yet I rooted my evo 4g lte in 5 mins the day it was released and its been blazing ever since. Just go sit down... we all know you hate HTC but you have yet to state any true fact yet.

Despite the HTC loyalists, do check up on XDA or SlateDroid and make sure that the HTC One can be unlocked and that CM10.1 will be available for it before you purchase, if that's your primary intent. Some phones are harder than others to root, etc.

Of course, I would tell you to do the same homework for any phone you're looking at, to make sure you know it has the "features" you're expecting.

Yawn.
Looks like they went to the play store, shopped.. and installed more gimmicks to get the same nerds that spent $600.00 last yr on the S3 ( or locked themselves into a July 2014 subsidized agreement ) to do it again for a phone that looks just like the S3..

Those of you ready for something new I don't blame you for getting the HTC One.. That now looks like "The" Phone to have for 2013.. At least it fresh.. front facing speakers and all.. :-) I am so glad I am all over the gotta have the newest phone thing.. My Rooted/Romed 4.2.2 Jellybean Galaxy Note 1 is just purring along at 1,782mhz fine and dandy.. And has saved me countless Hundreds of Dollars not to mention possibly being locked into a 2 year contract Eww! Nothing to see here.. Time to move along..

Really? I could have done without the extra .2ghz in processing power for an aluminum body. I could have done without the extra .2 inches in screen size for front-facing speakers. And I could have done without a camera that will take images so large they'll hog all my data to upload.... period. And I could especially have done without that awful, awful TouchWiz. I don't want my phone to look like it was developed by Fisher-Price, I don't care how useful it is. Aesthetics matter to me.
Samsung has cut all the wrong corners to deliver a product that's just going to fuel the spec war that Android itself can't even take advantage of as of yet. And it pains me, because I value things like industrial design. But it looks like I'm in the minority. Now I'm just praying HTC and company don't go bankrupt before my next upgrade so I won't face the unsavory choice of this plastic behemoth or an iPhone.

I could counter all of your points but it is clear it would be a waste of time. I will make one point though. You can select the resolution of your pictures. It takes half a second and I have the icon on my camera screen on my GS3.

The aluminum looks pretty now, but just wait. It will need to be covered up anyway or it's going to look very bad, very quickly. It will dent, and the clear coat (I assume it has a clear coat?) will chip and peel. The Poly will just bounce and even if it does get messed up you can easily buy and replace the back. I have a problem with metal sensitivity, so I would have to cover it anyway, but even if I didn't, I think Polycarbonate is a better material for a phone. And Samsung does it well with premium feel and perfect fit and finish.

BTW, I don't have anything against HTC; I just think that Samsung is doing it better right now.

chuckh0308...your assumption is wrong. There is no clear coat on the diamond cut edge full metal body zero gap construction of the HTC One. Too bad you have a metal sensitivity. Thank goodness you have this polycarbonate choice.

Many of the new features seem pretty gimmicky and, at least at this stage poorly implemented. I'm not overly impressed though I wasn't overly impressed with the S3 till I played with it. Excited to get one in my hands. Another bazillion seller I'm sure.

I have to say, I'm amazed that they made it 5" while shrinking in every dimension!
I love my S3, and really like the durable plastic back BUT... hate the fragile silver painted trim.
Does the S4 carry over the trim?

Interesting. Hardware has nice numbers but limited by Android OS for now. As OS improves it will take advantage of the speed, too bad the manufacturers will limit updates to this device to encourage the purchase of newer devices (this is a stable pattern across all Android manufacturers). A lot of hands free features no one will use. The health app is good. Everything else was ripped from Blackberry 10 (Hub, camera, Balance). They are good features so why wouldn't you want to integrate them, at least don't make it look like they were your ideas (yes they had time to copy since they were announced at least last summer).

Im glad im not the only one who is jumping all over this phone. These features are for people who need to feel accepted by showing their friends some cheezy p.i.p photo and sound in picture(why dont you just take a video then?).

So many more features than the iPhone. Samsung is just trying so much harder right now and it's paying off. Did anyone catch the Radio City Music Hall show they put on to introduce the S4? It was a little goofy but I actually kinda liked it

I'm excited for Samsung Knox too. That's exactly what Android needs to make a footprint in the workplace.

I still don't understand why people are complaining about the "gimmicks". Samsung's Galaxy line has always been full of gimmicky features/add-ons and if you were expecting anything else then you were kidding yourself.

They appear to have gotten all the important things right (to me, at least) by putting the Exynos 5 octa-core processor in there, the very latest version of Android, a full HD 5" Super Amoled screen, a bigger battery, they made it thinner and lighter and they sorted out the aesthetics (remember the S3's bizarre home button/lower front end?)

Once this thing gets root and CM10.1 it will be my perfect device! I for one can't wait to get my hands on one.

The biggest problem I see is that Samsung is CLEARLY trying to replace as much of Google and Android as they can with all of their own services, while the other manufacturers are moving the other direction. It's clear to me that Samsung's ultimate plan is to dump Android as soon as they can for their own Tizen OS that they'll have exclusive control of. They're laying the ground for that with all of the S-services on the S4.

Another shiny plastic piece of junk...great job, Samsung. I guess if people don't demand high quality, why bother giving it to them? The HTC One is in a league all by itself. The build quality is extremely important and they nailed it.

Yes, I am so happy somebody mentioned how bad that show was. I thought it was a total flop, and I could barely watch it. For the amount of money Samsung spends on media and advertising, and considering all their great ads, I expected the show to be more entertaining than -- what sort of felt like -- a mediocre high school musical production.

The design on this one is pretty disappointing. Its like a mini version of my Note II and the specs aren't impressive other than the potential of a better screen. Will say that most of the software tweaks sound impressive and hopefully they'll make their way to the Note II via an OTA.

That app has been around since before the iphone & android existed. I used to have that app on my Nokia N95 and my N95 8gb. The app was called hand wave: See the hand wave demo here on the N95 8gb: http://youtu.be/NaViO2TwEQ0

most of these new features are just novelty stuff, the only time people will use them is the first week they get the phone. Or just get the simiar apps on the market. i will be getting the htc one mainly because the very loud speakers are facing the front. i can't beleive this hasnt been thoughtn of a long time ago. why would you face a tiny weak speaker to the back of the phone while you're mainly watching and listening to the front of the phone.

ppl swear the htc one is better for real htc one bulit in battery and memory smh nope keep it add as much as a i want on the sam s4 64 bulit in and 64gb sd card yeah buddy now im gonna wait on the google X phone its gonna be between the moto X phone or sam s4

No, but comments such as "This phone sucks!" or "I hate plastic!" bear no conversational value. A differing, but constructive opinion is the cornerstone for an enlightening debate. That's my opinion, anyway.

Looks like most of the manufacturers brought it this year. I so thought the H1 was gonna be my next phone w/ the design and awesome camera. But, I love having a removable battery and SD card like on my S2 and impressed they upped the screen size while keeping the same size. If the S4's image quality is not as good, it's gonna be a tough decision.

I'm disappointed, I was a huge fan of the S-2 Hercules with t-mobile, the s3 was an option but I instead opted for a nexus 4. Everyone can sit here and tell me all they want about how plastic feels great and won't break and all i can say is that's garbage, my boss plastic s3 cracked in two from a 3 foot fall. I'm also really not enjoying the fact that Samsung is slowly trying to replace Google services with their own (looking at you S-voice and translate), also i know some of you are going to call me a fanboy and what not but i loath touchwiz. I for one will opt and wait to see what the motorola/google partnership will bring or wait for the new line of nexuses

So Samsung didnt improve up the weakest part of the S3 (build quality)? Sorry I have no interest in a phone that shatters the first time you drop it. Even the iPhone 5 beats the GS3 in drop tests which is just pathetic. Should give customers a discount on Otterbox cases lol.

We're now entering the era where the layouts has to bring the punch and set apart from the rest. I like it, make Android your own. I been telling people for a wile that it's not Android Vs iOS, it's TouchWiz Vs Sense Vs iOS, Vs whatever Moto wants to call themselves Vs BB10 Vs Windows Phone 8. If you're bitching about how it look like the S3, then get the HTC One, now one cares to hear you. Now, I wont be getting the S4, I'm here to see how the Note 3 may be like, But I"m good with the Note 2 til the Note 4. I think if you have a S3, it's ok to wait a year, but if you have a S2, then GET THIS! lol. (I personally think upgrading every year is stupid.) Oh and if you're the fools that feel they need the latest OS upgrade, then don't even think about this, cause we don't wait to hear you a few months from now asking "Where's my Keylime Pie update." You should know better by now!

I have an S3 on Sprint and its ok but has significant issues. The plastic is already cracked, its slippery, the glass is TERRIBLE (bad version of Gorilla) with many micro scratches, the screen is weak, and finally Touchwiz is balls. I put CM10 on it so fast and wow it really is nice to have that instead of TW. TW apps sucks (email etc). Now if I want the camera stuff and other features (most are gimmicky but some are cool) I have to use crappy TW. It sucks, it really does. OK battery life with CM10. Fantastic developer support

NOW, I also have HTC EVO 4G LTE. Nice phone with gorgeous screen, great glass (little to zero micro scratches), great design and build on the outside, camera is excellent yada yada. Now, Sense sucks. It is slow as balls. Great battery life. Not as easy to mod and developer support is ok.

So now we have the HTC One and Sense isn't slow anymore. Nova Launcher and Blinkfeed is gone. Battery life is really good. The design of this phone is GORGEOUS. Speakers are awesome. Screen is awesome. Camera is super new tech etc etc. There aren't really any downsides to this HTC One. Besides the nice battery and slightly better speed (I'm guessing) for the S4 I can't justify giving up the amazing camera to get a second rate tech in the S4. Camera of course I use with kids, friends, family and most importantly Steelhead. I like how Samsung is pushing the software features but TW has a crappy design that hasn't evolved from a design perspective. Not impressed. AMOLED screens suck dude. I can barely use mine outside in the sun. Its aweful. The blacks are nice though.

Not impressed here and HTC has really nailed it. Initial impressions of course.

EDIT: Downsides are the button layout on HTC One. I will just get it modded for menu (long press of Home). I use the HW button on my S3 (cm10 modded) for lots of things are love it (Voice Search Launch). Would miss this on One.

So glad my Galaxy Nexus is still working well for me. Really not impressed with the latest phones.

HTC One: very nearly perfect design but even if I could get over Sense which looks awful I can't really get over them reinventing the button layout on a phone (again!). I use the multitasking button all the time and I still have legacy apps that need a way to show a menu button. HTC could have easily used one screen buttons and the HTC One would have looked almost exactly the same. I DO give HTC credit for designing a very nice looking phone. Even if it isn't for me I hope others buy it so we're not left with just Samsung

GS4: Ugh...I've actually been a fan of Samsung in the past and I don't think the Galaxy S3 was a bad phone but they could have tried just a little bit harder with the GS4. Maybe a soft-touch plastic? I don't know. I'm sure the GS4 will be a decent phone because at least Samsung is always very careful to make sure there aren't any show stoppers like bad battery-life to bring their phone down. But it just feels like they didn't even try. No one (except for die-hard Samsung fans maybe?) is going to remember even half of those software features and they just keep adding more. I would much they rather spent a little less time on the software and a bit more time on the hardware.

This S4 and the HTC One will appeal to completely different people, especially among those of us commenting here. I personally can't stand touchwiz. I think it's laggy, very very laggy. You can see the lag when he is scrolling through the widgets in the app drawer. It's insane. Anyways, I like the One much much better as I am very tired of all the shiny plastic. It's slipper, end of story for me. I prefer HTC's high end aluminum shells to Samsungs plastic. I think for this phone, there are two different kinds of features. The S-Health is actually cool, as its built in and looks great as well. That and the IR Blaster are useful additions. The hover view, and the other visual "features" are legitimately gimmicky. About 1% of users at most will have any use for those. I didn't see any features on the HTC One that people will never use. That's what it boils down to for me, personally.

TW will be fast. This is early build. TW on my S3 was much faster (stock browser especially) than my HTC EVO 4G LTE. Besides the HTC One button layout, its an amazing device. I can't see going to old camera tech on the latest and greatest smart phone. Smart Stay is cool and some of the gestures but TW is just to ugly. Sense is far from hideous as guys at AC have said and its not slow anymore. That was its big fault. You put Nova on there (blink is gone) and violla, amazing device with the best design we have ever seen period.

My S3 is so fragile and slippery like a damn fish. Its aweful on the outside but was a beast on the inside compared to the competition (2GB of ram) but S4 isn't much better on the inside (US phones).

I'd like to say thanks to Phil and the gang. For a "hands on" video posted shortly after the unveiling, that was really high quality!

While most sites are posting a blurry, auto focus mess with someone just swiping homescreens back and forth while rambling, you guys get right to showing the meat and potatoes with quality audio and video.

Tgping this on my sgs,wanting and sgs4. I am not impressed. They have better and could have done more. I know things run their course, but this one is still at the gate. One year on top is great but if they would have had a killer followup they could have made it five on reputation alone.

I guess I will wait for my upgrade a year from now and hope for better.

Ugh super bored of the design. 1 whole year and all the money they made and this is the best they could do. I like the improvements but I wish it was more aesthetically appealing. I have an s3 and an iPhone 5. I might get rid of the s 3 and get the htc one, even tho I hate htc I like there design.

Just because you sold a shit load of s3's doesn't make you apple. When I buy a new car I want it to look different, don't want the same car as last year with a different engine. Htc one is my next now that I see this crap.

I was at the event tonight and at the HTC One event last month, so I have had some hands-on time with both phones. And I really have to say that I was unimpressed by the S4's software additions - there was very little that was not already available in Android, and Samsung's implementation of most of the features brought nothing new to the table. Seemed to me to be manufacturer bloatware. And TouchWiz is as clunky as ever. I tried out both Smart Pause and Smart Scroll - neither of them worked for me. Air Gesture only worked for me in the Gallery (as it did in the on stage demo), couldn't get it to work with anything else. The phone itself does feel better in the hand than the S3, but still feels real plasticky. As with last year's S3 vs. the One series (in my case the S), I feel absolutely great going with the One. The only Samsung envy I have is with storage, although at least the One has stepped it up in capacity this time!

It seems somewhat ironic to me that while HTC is debloating sense that Samsung is piling on layers into touchwiz. It comes across as somewhat gimmicky. I personally lean towards a more stock experience so this turns me off. I'm sure it'll sell plenty, but I'm way more excited about the One. And no way would I trade my Nike fuelband for whatever the Samsung s band Health thing will be. Clearly they want to lock you into the ecosystem.

This phone is just full of fluff and bloat really the translate feature been available(google translate). The waving your hand to scroll that will be annoying...the camera stuff is kinda neat yet kinda lame at the same time. IR blaster seems like we are going backwards in tech there. The connecting a bunch of phones to be a surround sound system seems kinda silly and assumes you will have a bunch of people ever around you with the same phone...and the health stuff is more bloat...I mean what if I don't want that crap on my phone? that should be an app in the playstore. They add another store for books, movies and such...really because we don't already have enough choices to buy from? This phone reminds me why I went to nexus devices since the nexus s and have not looked back. I love my nexus 4 and nexus 7 and would not trade them for this thing.

HTC One please! Already have an S3 which I think is great, don't want another one with a few more gimmicks and things I'll probably never use. A redesign would have probably nailed it, its just so similar to the S3, plus the S3 will get the same software functions, so really where's the incentive to go S4? It most probably will do well due to technolust, but technolust just didn't kick in for me with this one, the HTC One....yeah kicked right in there!

I was disappointed with this Samsung device....not really anything substantially new after all the hype prior to release. I actually do not look at Samsung as being a very creative company although they make great hardware. What they seem to be good at is copying everyone else's ideas, not a creative bone in this organization.
And this is coming from someone who owns a Note II, top of the line TV, monitor and a 7.7 inch tablet. These guys have lost their way and hope for results through sheer marketing muscle.

The reviewer said it himself " it's kind of gimmicky, HTC one has software &hardware, camera, wafered microphones, stereo speakers &m more. The HTC one's unibody is made of higher grade aluminum than even iPhone 5! What does that tell you? They are actually doing something, not just upgrading software & giving you another plastic frame, it's not even carbon plastic! Half the crap in there is useless &the other float your finger a millimeter over the screen is a home; Terry that in a bus ride, a train ride, walking even. I'm not spending my money on a hit or miss, I'm going for the win IMO that the HTC one, it's better in every way & they deserve my money. Let's just hope Samsung gs4 finally got there GPS right this time too! That's all BS to think about when buying a phone that your paying over $600 for, I know what I want & is more than software & a plastic body. Is a phone that outclasses the iPhone & android phones & they finally give it to people, then all of a sudden they're like *oh no wait, actually I'll take gimmicks &plastic for $600* wtf!

What was wrong with the GPS on S3. What some/many people find gimmicky can be useful or even make someone's life easier if they are particularly disabled.

Why are you here if you know what you want. Go by that. The S series have been plastic forever. It's not changing soon, and I'm sure you'd know that by now.

It's a brand thing. Samsung has been around longer, or at least has a bigger name and reputation. HTC is like the Asus of PC. Asus wasn't really known by the common folk, but now they are doing really well with quality and pricing. HTC is the same, they are an amazing company but only people have experience with their devices truly know their quality.

The reviewer said it himself " it's kind of gimmicky, HTC one has software &hardware, camera, wafered microphones, stereo speakers &m more. The HTC one's unibody is made of higher grade aluminum than even iPhone 5! What does that tell you? They are actually doing something, not just upgrading software & giving you another plastic frame, it's not even carbon plastic! Half the crap in there is useless &the other float your finger a millimeter over the screen is so useless that in a bus ride, a train ride, walking even it'll be impossible to keep that finger from touching the screen & activating the touch response.. I'm not spending my money on a hit or miss, I'm going for the win IMO that the HTC one, it's better in every way & they deserve my money. Let's just hope Samsung gs4 finally got there GPS right this time too! That's all BS to think about when buying a phone that your paying over $600 for, I know what I want & is more than software & a plastic body. Is a phone that outclasses the iPhone & android phones & they finally give it to people, then all of a sudden they're like *oh no wait, actually I'll take gimmicks &plastic for $600* wtf!

I found the presentation to be rather cheesy. I would have preferred someone standing up there telling about the features than the actor/scenes they performed, but I guess they wanted to show situations of it being used/needed,

Well all i can say at this point is, I'm on broken Evo 3d and my brain is so full now, 32 GB, 16GB, Ram, S Voice, Google Now, Watch On, group Play, Aluminum Body, polycarbonate, gorilla glass. It is all too much and i cannot decide!!!!!

I'm honestly choosing b/t the HTC One of the Galaxy S 4.... both spectacular looking phones. I hope I come to a decision.

The GS4 is a good looking device and the HTC One is a better looking device...one thing people dont realise is that the GS4/3 offers something the HTC One, Sony experia, Nokia Lumia and nexus 4 dont...something that only the iphone offered...and thats the family feeling...they base their device around families, around friends, around groups, around PEOPLE...they focus on sharing, having fun, enjoyment...of courseeee they are gimmicky thats the fun thing about these gestures, the dual camera they are supposed to be fun and enjoyable...the device focuses on making people happy..and things like air-view are at the very early stages...Can you imagine what it will be able to do, soon you'll have air view that expands, deletes or projects content..its all early stages for Samsung, the worlds now their oyster, they are getting better...you're crazy if you think people will turn to HTC just cause its metal, or experia Z just cause its water proof... Samsung introduced Smart pause...that alone killed the competition..why? because it focuses on HUMAN wants, wishes and dreams...they are no where near perfect, but Samsung is the only company on the that track...turning wishes of normal people into a reality... everything is a process!!...every other phone feels and looks a lot more premium than the galaxy S3...so why is the S3 on top?...you tink bout dat

and if it is "dumb paws" (need to waft your hand using "Air Gestures" to correct faults in "Smart Pause") the Competition (and onlookers) will die laughing.

} every other phone feels and looks a lot more premium than the galaxy
} S3...so why is the S3 on top?...you tink bout dat

DAT was a great technology but was never widely adopted by consumers because of issues of expense and concerns from the music industry. Same fate for Betamax.
Dat is whut I tink.

If the HTC does not convince People, then surely the upcoming Apple Phone will.

The GS4 will easily be obsolete from a Hardware standpoint by the end of the year (if not the next Phone) with the coming 64-Bit Processors and even better GPUs, combined with yet another increase in clock speed (which is all it's S4 Hardware is offering most People)).

It will be obsolete from a Software standpoint as 3rd Party Applications come out for the other competing Phones and Samsung hangs itself, between 'a rock and a hard place', by holding back the new Software features from the SIII while at the same time People expecting that most of those Features will be backported.

.

If Samsung had made an even better Phone (to beat the Rumor Mill to toothpicks), made it a bit more distinctive, and offered OctaCore to North America THEN the "winner" (individual with the cooler Phone) would be clear.

The problem I see here is that all of their new features aren't reliable enough. When I got my Note 2 I tried out smart stay and smart rotation, even though the eye came up on the notification bar it only worked maybe 25% of the time. I tend to use my phone while in bed watching videos or so forth, and unless there is plenty of light the camera couldn't detect my eyes and rotated the screen and turned off anyways.

I have a feeling a lot of the features they talked about here don't work very well in the real world.

"Lag happens", you say? Well, it continues to happen on my Note2. Most of which, I'm convinced, is due to Samsung's gimmicky software. Even with a freshly reset phone and most of their "S" garbage toggled off, the phone is still noticeably laggy. I've learned my lesson and will steer well clear of the S4, along with its additional, sure-to-be-forever-buggy features.

I'm sure this device is a lot of fun to use, and despite the "gimmicky" nature of some of the new features, that is how, in the end, we get innovation (touch screens, gyroscopes, and voice command were all gimmicks at one time). It is a nice looking device, and I know a lot of people are really excited.

But here's what I don't get. This phone seems to push the envelope of using gestures, even floating above the screen, yet still maintains a physical home button. Are there really that many people that like to have a button on an otherwise smooth surface? I use a Galaxy Nexus, and one of the nicest features is that there are no physical buttons on the screen portion of the phone. Additionally, when watching a video, the button area becomes extra screen real estate that is lost with a physical button. Maybe I'm in the minority, but wouldn't this phone look that much better, and have that much more screen in the same space, without the button?

I like the new Galaxy S4, it's got some gimmicks I wouldn't use, but there are some fantastic features that I'm sure I would the camera features especially. They are far better than photo sphere a stock feature that I have absolutely no patience to use for the poor end product. It's definitely a feature phone I would happily own if I could afford it.

Honestly I love Samsung, but I love just about everything that the HTC One provides. I like the new design/build of the HTC One too. There are many elders that come to me for phone recomendations and when they don't know how to use a device. They're all Korean so being able to change the OS language to Korean is kind of important, and the ability to have korean as a keyboard input from the default settings is essential. Sadly the One S has neither. I don't understand how a company as big as HTC cannot have Korean for a system setting, but hey maybe their mad because of them having to leave Korea for bad sales.

If I ever get my choice of device for myself I will choose the HTC One

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